Bed constructions



- Sept. 8, 1970 MINORU IKEDA 3,526,910

BED CONSTRUCTIONS Filed Dec. 21, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BY Mb Sept. 8, 1970 I N0 u D 3,5263) BED CONSTRUGTIONS Filed Dec 21, 1967 I 2 Sheets-Sheet z wwim INVENTOR.

I BY W United States Patent O U.S. Cl. -186 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bed construction which includes a bed body having legs, the bed body consists of a mattress section with a suflicient cushioning property formed in the central part thereof, and a ledged section with a lesser cushioning property than the mattress section for-med at the marginal part of the mattress section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a bed construction, more particularly to the bed construction including a mattress part and a support assembly to support the mattress part.

Conventional bed construction generally comprises a mattress, a support structure to support the mattress, and a head board and a foot board arranged at the alternate ends of the support structure. In general, the width of the mattress used in this type of bed is substantially equal to or slightly wider than the support structure, so that the side edges of the mattress always hang over the support member.

In the use of the bed, when a user sits on the edge of the mattress to lie in the bed, the user will be given an unstable feel, at the same time the edge of the mattress is subjected to a strong local pressure thereby resulting in its early damage or permanent deformation. On the other hand, usual bedspreads are generally wider than the mattress, so that the portions of the bedspread placed outside of the mattress will hang over from the edges of the mattress. The overhanging portions stretch the remaining part of the bedspread resulting in giving a heavier weight than otherwise, and if the length of the overhanging parts are uneven with respect to each other, then the bedspread is liable to slip down from the mattress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention contemplates to provide an improved bed construction in which the central part thereof has a sufficient cushioning eifect and the marginal part of the central cushioning part has a lesser cushioning eifect. Consequently, the edge portions of the bed which have minor cushioning effect will help to have a stable posture to the user when the user sits on the part of the bed. On the contrary, the central part of the bed will permit support of the user with sufi'icient cushioning efiect similar to a conventional bed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF' THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bed embodying this invention, showing the cushioning part cut away to reveal the support structure;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged cross section taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the support structure used in the bed illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one modification of the bed according to this invention, showing the mattress part cut away to reveal the support structure; and

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged longitudinal cross section of the support structure illustrated in FIG. 4.

Patented Sept. 8, 1970 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the reference numeral 11 designates a bed body having four legs secured to the underside thereof to support the bed body substantially horizontally above the floor. Both lengthwise ends of the bed body are some what elevated from the remaining part so as to form a head board 13 and a foot board 14, respectively.

The support structure of the bed body 11, as best shown in FIG. 3, includes a rectangular lower steel frame 15 which consists of a steel member having the legs 12 secured to the underside, an upper steel pipe frame 17 secured to the lower frame 16 by means of a plurality of support bars 16, and core members 18 and 19 to constitute the core of the head board and foot board, respectively, joined to each short side of the upper frame 17. The upper frame 17 is slightly wider than the lower frame 15, so that the support bars 16 interconnecting the frames at the long sides are inclined outwardly to the upperside. Between the opposite sides of the upper frame 17 are stretched resilient members such as steel wires 20' each of which is provided with a pair of coiled sections at the portions of their alternate ends. On the other hand, approximately square wooden rods 21 are fitted to the underside of the lower frame 15 entirely by means of wood screws 22.

The support structure of the bed body 11, except for the under side, is covered with a layer of cushioning material 23 and a sheeting 24 such as woven fabric ,or vinyl coated fabric. Preferably, the cushioning material is cellular cushioning material such as synthetic resin foam and natural rubber foam. The cushioning layer 23 and the sheeting 24 are fixed to the wooden rod 21 along their margins by means of an appropriate fixing means such as U-shaped nails 25. If the sheeting 24 is fixed to the support structure by other means than the nails 25, for example, by means of metal nails fitted to the lower frame 15, the wooden rods 21 can be omitted.

In the bed construction described above, the central part of the bed body 11 has a suflcient cushioning property for use in a bed due to the large cushioning elfect of the steel wires 20 and the layer of cushioning material, but, since both edge parts of the bed body are supported on the rigid upper frame '17, the edge parts present a smaller cushioning effect than the central part. These edge parts, therefore, will help to hold an extremely stable posture of the occupant at the time of sitting on the bed side. On the other hand, when the occupant lies in the central part of the bed, this part sinks due to the weight of the occupant, but the height of the edge parts do not vary, so that the edge parts are at a higher position than the central part. Consequently, the bedspread covering the occupant will be prevented from slipping down from the bed side. Further, since the Width of the bed body is larger than the conventional bed, both sides of the bedspread are placed on the bed body, thereby not causing an undue heavy weight on the occupant of the bed.

The resilient member stretched between the opposite sides of the upper frame 17 should have sufi'icient resiliency so as to present a comfortable cushioning motion. The steel wires 21 having a coiled section have the advantage that the resiliency thereof can be varied in a wide range by properly selecting the material, diameter of each wire, the number of coils formed therein or the number of wires to be used per unit area. Many steel nettings will also have the same advantages.

The upper frame 17 to support the resilient member is subjected to a strong stress to bend it at the time of using the bed, so that the frame 17 is required to have sufficient rigidity to bending. Where the frame 17 itself lacks the rigidity to withstand such stresses, it may be reinforced so as to furnish satisfactory rigidity. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper frame 17 is reinforced at its central portion by means of supporting bars 26 with an L-shaped cross section which are secured to connect the long sides thereof (see FIG. 3).

The layer of cushioning material may be formed by molding in such a manner that the support structure is embedded in the cushioning layer. In this moulding, the raw material of synthetic resin foam or natural rubber foam is charged into a mold having a configuration corresponding to that of the bed body to be manufactured, and then the material is treated to complete the foam structure after the support structure is placed at the determined position in the mold. It is preferred that the support structure is designed separable into several sections, for example, a head board, a foot board and remaining parts. In this case the molding process can be carried out in separated three steps. Each part which consists of the support structure and the cushioning layer covering it is joined to other parts.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate another embodiment according to this invention which includes a support structure and a mattress arranged thereon, in which the same or similar parts used in the bed construction illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by like reference numerals.

In this modification a support structure includes a rectangular lower or inner frame having four legs 12, which consists of a hollow steel member having a rectangular cross section, an upper or outer steelpipe frame 17 disposed outside of and slightly higher than the inner frame 15, and a plurality of support bars 16 interconnecting the inner and outer frames 15, 17. A resilient member which consists of a plurality of steel wires 20 having coiled section at their alternate ends is stretched between the opposite sides of the outer frame 17. On the upper surface of the support structure is placed a cushioning member 28 which consists, for example, of a layer of polyurethane foam covered with woven fabric. The cushioning member 28 is progressively thin toward the edge portions corresponding to the configuration of the upper surface of the support structure. If desired, a head board and a foot board are attached to the short sides of the support structure.

In this embodiment the central part of the bed body 11 presents a sufficient cushioning effect due to the resiliency caused by the cushioning member 28 and the resilient member supporting the cushioning member, but the edge parts, particularly outside from the inner frame 15, will have a lesser cushioning property than the remaining part. Consequently, the modified bed construction according to this invention will give a comfortable feeling to the occupant.

Although the reason that the outer frame 17 is disposed upper than the inner frame 16 is based on the fact that the desirable reduction of the cushioning property at the edge parts is advantageously obtained by decreasing the thickness of the cushioning member 28 along its margin, even when the upper surface of the outer frame 17 is placed in the same plane as that of the inner frame, a sufficient difference of the cushioning effects between the central part and the edge parts will be obtained. In this case the cushioning member 28 can have uniform thickness in the entire upper surface.

While there have been shown and described particular embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A bed construction comprising a rectangular inner frame having a plurality of legs, a resilient member stretched between the opposite sides of said inner frame, a rectangular outer frame disposed at an outer and higher position than that of said inner frame, a plurality of connecting means interconnecting said inner and outer frame, and a cushioning member having a lower surface corresponding to the upper configuration defined by the upper surface of said inner and outer frames, whereby the central part of said cushioning member has a larger cushioning property than that of the remaining marginal parts.

2. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein said resilient member consists of steel wires each of which has coiled sections formed at alternate end portions thereof.

3. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein said resilient member is a steel wire netting.

4. A bed comprising in combination:

(a) support means (12) to support a lower frame (15) above the floor;

(b) a lower frame (15) (21) supported by said support means;

(c) an upper longitudinal frame (17) defining a bed area between opposite sides thereof and support bars (16) securing said upper frame (17) to said lower frame 15), said upper frame (17) being slightly wider than said lower frame so that said support bars extend outwardly;

(d) resilient wire means extending between said upper frame opposite sides including coil sections at opposite ends thereof;

(e) elevated foot and head sections (13, 14) defined at opposite longitudinal ends of said upper frame (f) a cushioning member including cushioning material (23) with a sheathing (24) thereon having a lower surface corresponding to the upper configuration defined by the upper surface of said inner and outer frames, the central part of said cushioning member having a larger cushioning property than that of the remaining marginal parts.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,741,022 12/1929 Hosner 5-189 XR 1,279,715 9/1918 Langlykke 5-189 XR 2,290,615 7/1942 Firestone 5191 XR 3,116,493 1/1964 Gerds et al 5105 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

